<p>I couldn't believe this. UT is dropping out of the Nat Merit program. That's not going to help with their national ranking so what gives? OK, yes I can believe it but still. </p>
<p>Oops, didn’t scroll down far enough to see this has already been posted. </p>
<p>It is a shame they are doing this.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is going to hurt UT’s national ranking. Most of the schools in the top 1/2 don’t give much, if anything, to National Merit Scholars because many of the admitted students’ SAT scores are at or near the NM level. For the schools in the top 1/2 that do give generous merit aid, more is required of the students than stellar SAT scores. </p>
<p>If there are some NMS that decide against UT and instead go with a school that does offer a generous NMS scholarship, there will be some other highly qualified student waiting to take their place at UT. I doubt seriously that UT’s average SAT scores are going to drop if some or even quite a few of the NMS elect to go elsewhere. </p>
<p>As I pointed out earlier in this thread, NMS is not the only scholarship offered by UT to bright students. If receiving a merit scholarship is going to be the deciding factor, there are other merit scholarships available.</p>
<p>This is a terrible move. This will mean far less outstanding out-of-state students will be interested in attending. Part of the reason many come to UT is because of cost; the NM scholarship guarantee’s out-of-state tuition waiver for 4 years. They will need to find another way to attract the best and brightest, which I’m sure there are numerous alternative ways to do so. Directing it towards more need-based might not be the best way to attract the top scholars.</p>